Jonathan Choti
- (He/Him)
- chotijon@msu.edu
- B-Wells Hall 380B
- Associate Professor
- Linguistics, Languages, and Cultures
Biography
Ph.D. in Linguistics (2015), Michigan State University (MSU); M.A. in English Language and Linguistics (1998) and B.A. in English and Swahili Linguistics (1993), Egerton University, Kenya. Jonathan Choti is an Associate Professor of African Languages and Cultures. He teaches Swahili language classes and several courses focused on African cultures. He is also the faculty leader of a 6-week summer education broad program known as Sustainable Community Development in Tanzania. He is affiliated to a couple of professional organizations, namely the Association of Contemporary African Linguistics (ACAL), National Council of Less Commonly Taught Languages (NCOLCTL), African Language Teachers Association (ALTA), Kenya Scholars and Studies Association (KESSA), and Chama cha Ukuzaji wa Kiswahili Duniani/Global Association for the Promotion of Swahili (ChAUKIDU). Choti’s research interests focus on the phonology and morphology of Bantu languages, the pedagogy of minority languages, gender and sexuality in Africa, and language documentation.
Works
Excellence Awards
- Mid-Michigan Spartans Quality in Undergraduate Teaching Award
- Excellence Award in Interdisciplinary Scholarship
- Excellence in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Award
- Inspiration Award for Professional Achievement
- MSU Award for Outstanding Service to Education Abroad
Fellowships & Grants
- College of Arts and Letters Epistemic Justice Fellowship
- Center for Gender in Global Context (GenCen) Faculty Fellowship
- Honors College Faculty Fellowship
- College of Arts and Letters Engaged Pedagogy and Programming Award
- College of Ats and Letters Inclusive Pedagogy Fellowship
- Lilly Teaching Fellowship
- Adams Academy Fellowship
- Center for Gender in Global Context (GenCen) Strategic Partnership Grant
- Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) Fellowship
- Alliance for African Partnership Faculty Global Engagement Fund
- MSU Libraries Open Educational Resources Grant
- Creating Inclusive Excellence Grant
- RCAH’s Network for Global Engagement Grant
- International Studies and Programs Special Foreign Travel Fund
- Mozilla Responsible Computing Challenge (RCC) Grant
- Alliance for African Partnership Transforming Institutions Strategic Planning Grant
Books
- Sibanda, G., Ngonyani, D., Choti, J. and Biersteker, A., eds. (2022). Descriptive and Theoretical Approaches to African Linguistics: Selected papers from the 49th Annual Conference on African Linguistics. Berlin: Language Science Press (https://langsci-press.org/catalog/book/306)
Chapters in Refereed Books
- Choti, J. (2025). “Nasal Prefix Segmental Processes [in Bantu Languages]”. In Lutz Marten, Ellen Hurst-Harosh, Nancy C. Kula, and Jochen Zeller, eds. The Oxford Guide to the Bantu Languages. Oxford University Press: Oxford.
- Choti, J. (2022). “The augment in Ekegusii and Haya”. In Sibanda, G., Ngonyani, D., Choti, J., and Biersteker, A., eds. 48-72. Descriptive and Theoretical Approaches to African Linguistics: Selected papers from the 49th Annual Conference on African Linguistics. Berlin. Language Science Press.
- Choti, J. (2015). “Phonological asymmetries of Bantu nasal prefixes”. In Kramer, Ruth et al, 37-51. Selected Proceedings of the 44th Annual Conference on African Linguistics. Somerville, MA: Cascadilla Proceedings Project.
Gallery
College of Arts & Letters News
- Professor Jonathan Choti Elected President of the Kenya Scholars and Studies AssociationCollege of Arts & Letters
September 25, 2025Jonathan Choti, Associate Professor of African Languages and Cultures in the Department of Linguistics, Languages, and Cultures at Michigan State University, was elected President of the Kenya Scholars and Studies Association (KESSA), a professional organization that draws […] Read Now →
- MSU Professor Leads Effort to Preserve Kenya’s Indigenous LanguagesCollege of Arts & Letters
July 22, 2025Jonathan Choti, Associate Professor of African Languages and Cultures in the Department of Linguistics, Languages, and Cultures at Michigan State University, recently traveled to Kenya to lead a workshop focused on revitalizing that country’s indigenous languages, many of […] Read Now →
- African Languages Professor Awarded 2025-26 Walter and Pauline Adams Academy FellowshipCollege of Arts & Letters
May 23, 2025Jonathan Choti, Associate Professor of African Languages and Cultures in the Department of Linguistics, Languages, and Cultures at Michigan State University, has been awarded a 2025-26 Walter and Pauline Adams Academy Fellowship. This annual MSU Office of Faculty and Academic […] Read Now →
- College of Arts & Letters Faculty Awarded for Excellence in Diversity, Equity, and InclusionCollege of Arts & Letters
January 29, 2025Three faculty members from the College of Arts & Letters are being honored by the university as recipients of 2024-25 Excellence in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Awards. These awards, presented by MSU’s Office for Institutional Diversity and Inclusion, recognize […] Read Now →
- College Receives National Award for Innovative Policies and Programs Supporting Non-Tenure-Track FacultyCollege of Arts & Letters
October 10, 2024Michigan State University’s College of Arts & Letters has been selected as a winner of the 2024 Delphi Award for its dedicated work to include non-tenure-track faculty as full partners through its Charting Pathways of Intellectual Leadership (CPIL) initiative. As a winner […] Read Now →
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